A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes
by Pir8grl
Summary: Following an attack by a vicious, psychic alien, Rose seeks refuge in a fairy tale world, deep inside her own mind.
1. Chapter 1

_**Prompt from develish1 on Bad Wolf Rising, to write a fic based on an exquisite piece of fan art entitled Briar Rose, by the-untempered-prism, which may be viewed at deviantart. (Many apologies, but this site is simply not letting me post a direct link)**_

* * *

"Professor! I think he's wakin' up!" a youthful voice shouted, far too loud, and far too close to the Doctor's pounding skull.

"Volume, Ace," the Doctor muttered, then his eyes shot wide open as his battered synapses processed exactly what he'd just heard and said.

"Easy there, lad," one of his own past selves soothed in a voice with a slight Scottish burr, pressing him back against the diagnostic bed.

The Doctor stared in disbelief from the slightly portly man in the question mark jumper to the feisty teenaged girl and he groaned. "You - her - how?"

"Psychic scream, my boy. Powerful enough to knock me right off my feet. I'm guessing that was you. Your friend is human -"

**"ROSE!"** the Doctor cried, brushing off the restraining hands and stumbling to his feet. His legs didn't want to hold him, and he would have fallen if Ace and his former self hadn't grabbed his arms. He stumbled over to the other diagnostic bed with their aid.

"Ace, fetch a chair, quickly!" the Seventh Doctor snapped.

"Thanks, Ace,' the Doctor muttered, sinking into the seat gratefully. His eyes, indeed all of his senses, were trained on Rose's unmoving form. He could hear her respirations, and the beat of her heart, but she was so still.

"Professor, how's he know my name?" he vaguely heard Ace ask, only to be hushed by his former self.

The Doctor noticed that his long brown coat was draped over Rose, and he shot his counterpart a questioning look.

"She felt a bit cool," the other Doctor explained. "I put your coat on her until we could find a proper blanket, and well…it seemed as if her vital signs got a bit stronger, so I thought it best to leave it." He shrugged sheepishly.

The Doctor reached out and gently stroked Rose's arm. "How did you find us?" he asked.

"As I said, I experienced a very powerful psychic distress call. We came to investigate and found your TARDIS adrift. We towed you to a nearby moon and came aboard. Good thing the old girl still recognizes me."

The Doctor dragged his hands through his hair as he moaned in pain. "Paradoxes. Splendid."

"Least of our worries, right now, I'd say. What do you remember?"

"We landed on what I thought was an uninhabited asteroid, except that it wasn't an asteroid, it was actually an extremely powerful telepathic, well, I guess vampire, would be the closest word. It could make your fantasies and dreams and wishes come to life all around you - while it siphoned off your life force. By the time I realized what was happening, it had already sunk itself into Rose's mind. I grabbed her and ran for the TARDIS. The alien was trying to take her, too. The last thing I recall was trying to send us into the vortex…"

"When we found you, the TARDIS was adrift, but she was already starting to recover. So were you."

"And Rose?" the Doctor asked urgently.

"Best to show you, I think," the other Doctor replied. He reached up and set one hand gently against Rose's temple, nodding for his counterpart to do the same. "I, er, wasn't meaning to intrude, you understand. I was merely trying to determine the extent of her injuries…"

"Of course."

Both Doctors closed their eyes, reaching out to find Rose's mind. Instantly, they found themselves in a fairy tale forest. A glorious, golden castle crowned a hill surrounded by a towering hedge of roses. The blossoms themselves were a lush pink, dewy and fragrant, but the canes were thick and impenetrable, and featured formidable thorns. A detail that the pinstriped Doctor discovered the hard way.

"Thoughts?" his counterpart asked.

"I told Rose to imagine a wall around her mind. It looks as though she took that literally. Let's get back."

The Doctor opened his eyes, and found himself back in the medbay, with Ace staring at them curiously. He grinned at her affectionately. "Ace, why don't you pop along to the galley? I'm pretty sure there's a plate of bacon sandwiches in there somewhere."

Her eyes brightened, and she looked to her own Doctor for approval. He nodded, and she wandered off in search of food.

"She still have that baseball bat?" the Tenth Doctor asked, absently taking one of Rose's limp hands and cradling it between his palms.

"And the nitro nine. Despite my best efforts." He chuckled indulgently, for a moment, then sobered as he turned his attention back to Rose. "This young lady…I'm sensing that she's rather more than just another traveling companion."

The older Doctor nodded, swallowing harshly. "She's…a piece of my soul, that I never realized was missing, until the day I met her, and she took my hand… I have to get her back. Have to."

"Then we shall." He paused then, carefully considering his next words. "You understand, before I took the liberty of looking inside her mind, I tried everything possible with this equipment."

"I thought as much," the pinstriped Doctor said quietly. He was steadier on his feet now, carefully scanning the readouts of the equipment that monitored Rose. "Physically, she's stable. But her mind…"

"That alien terrified her. She escaped the only way she could - deep inside her own psyche."

"D'you think she can find her own way out again?"

"I think you're going to have to go in and get her," the Seventh Doctor said kindly.

The Doctor glanced helplessly around the medbay, as though seeking inspiration. "Surely there must be something here -"

"I've tried everything here," his former self reminded him impatiently. "No," he continued, in a much more gentle tone, "a princess locked in a tower…I'd say that's a job for a prince. Oh, I'll help you, of course, but I think this one is entirely up to you."

"I am not a prince."

"Oh, I think you are, to her."

"I want to help," Ace said earnestly, peering in from the doorway, where neither man had noticed her standing.

The two Doctors exchanged glances.

"I want to say it's too dangerous, but that's never meant much of anything to her," the Doctor in the pinstriped suit fretted.

"She can be quite resourceful, you may recall."

"Why do you want to help, Ace?" the Tenth Doctor asked rather intently.

"Because she's your friend, just like I'm his, and you need her. You're no good on your own."

"Flattering as ever. Oh, how I've missed you," the Doctor said warmly.

"You're him, aren't you? From the future or somethin'?"

"Something like that. Best not to think too much about it."

"So I can come, then?"

"Yeah. 'Course you can." He stopped near the head of the bed, his gaze focused on Rose's too-still face.

The other Doctor noticed. "Come here, Ace," he called, stepping across the room to give his counterpart some semblance of privacy. "I want to…erm, explain what is going to happen."

"Huh? Oh, sure, Professor," she replied, following him.

The Doctor carefully laid down Rose's hand, tucking her arm back under his coat. He stroked her cheek tenderly, noting her pallor, and unnatural coolness. "I am so, so sorry Rose. I will fix this, I swear I will, but I need you to hang on for me, all right? 'Cuz I'd be lost without you."

He tucked his coat more firmly around her body, rubbing up and down her arms lightly, as if to impart warmth. He bent and pressed his lips fervently to her forehead. "I'm coming to get you, Rose," he vowed.

The other Doctor glanced over discreetly and saw him scrubbing his hands roughly over his face. "Are we ready, then?"

"No time like the present," the pinstriped Doctor replied, with one final, lingering glance at Rose's unconscious face.


	2. Chapter 2

Ace gazed wide-eyed at the fairy tale landscape around them. "Blimey! So, Professor…we're inside your friend's mind?"

The Doctor scrubbed a hand through his unruly hair. "Well, yes and no. Technically, we're all still back in the TARDIS medbay, but at the same time, our consciousnesses have been projected into this illusion that Rose's subconscious created to protect her mind."

Ace mulled that over a bit. "So…we're inside her dream, then?"

"Actually, Ace, that is surprisingly accurate," her own Doctor approved.

"It's beautiful," Ace said wistfully. "Did she grow up in a place like this?"

The Doctor chuckled softly. "No, Ace. Rose grew up in London, on a council estate."

"What, like me?"

"Yep."

"What's she like?"

"Ace," the Seventh Doctor murmured warningly.

"It's all right," his counterpart assured him. "She's very brave and clever and kind. She cares about people. She has a way of smiling that just makes you feel…happy."

"She sounds nice," Ace said softly.

"She is. Very nice."

The other Doctor cleared his throat gruffly. "How do you propose we get through that?" he asked, gesturing towards the formidable hedge with his umbrella.

The pinstriped Doctor snatched back Ace's hand before she could hurt herself on the thorns.

"Hey! How come you're wearing your coat? You didn't have it on back in the TARDIS."

"That is quite correct, Ace," her Doctor replied, rolling his r's ostentatiously.

"Well," his counterpart considered, "we are inside Rose's dream. Maybe we're seeing what she wants us to see."

"All right then, I've still got my sonic. What have you got?" the Tenth Doctor asked curiously.

"One sonic screwdriver and one umbrella," the other Doctor replied.

"All my stuff is back on our TARDIS," Ace replied. "But maybe that's a good thing? I mean, we're inside your friend's head, right? Don't we need to be careful, so we don't hurt her?"

Both Doctor's glances met over the girl's head, their eyes glowing with approval at her cleverness.

"Brilliant, you are," the pinstriped-suited Doctor said warmly, leaning in to plant a kiss on Ace's forehead.

Ace looked startled, but pleased, unused to such behavior from her own Doctor. She looked about, noticing several large, strong-looking branches loose on the ground. She picked one up, testing its weight in her hands.

"What are you up to, Ace?" her Doctor asked.

"Well, we've got to get through this somehow. I don't think it's a good idea to hit anything, or blow anything up-"

"Wonders never cease," the Seventh Doctor muttered, rolling his eyes.

"But maybe we can pry at it a bit," Ace finished, her eyes flashing indignantly. She located a tiny gap in the hedge, and started using the branch to try and pry a larger opening. The branch promptly snapped, and Ace stumbled backwards.

"All right?" the Tenth Doctor asked solicitously as he helped her up.

"I'm fine. Blimey!" Ace exclaimed, leaning forward to look closely at the hedge. The small gap she'd tried to exploit had grown over, dense and impenetrable.

Ace's Doctor scanned the hedge with his sonic. "The readings are normal. A perfectly normal rose hedge." He made an adjustment and aimed the device at the hedge again. For an instant, the thick canes seemed to shrink away from the glowing device, but then they closed ranks again, seeming to grow even higher.

"Professor, stop!" Ace exclaimed, tugging at the Doctor's arm. "You're scaring her. You said she made this place to hide from that alien, because it scared her, but she's doesn't know us - we're scaring her, too!"

"I think she's right," the Doctor admitted, scrubbing a hand across his eyes wearily. His mind was whirling at a million miles an hour, sifting through ideas and rejecting them out of hand. "There has to be a way through here," he muttered, "something that won't hurt Rose, or frighten her into building this damn hedge any higher."

"Oh, I think there is," the other Doctor said, knowingly.

"Something you want to share?"

"It's you, my boy. Your friend knows you, and trusts you, so if anyone is going to find a way through this, it's you."

The Doctor glared at him, his logically trained, genius mind arguing that this was nonsense, until he recalled where they were, and how they came to be there. As usual, the impulsive tug of his hearts won out.

"This is like watching myself in a mirror," the other Doctor marveled, observing the play of thoughts and emotions across the other man's face, and knowing when he came a decision.

"Yes, I suppose it would be." The Doctor's face flushed slightly, knowing this might look a bit odd - odder still, if it didn't work - then realized that he didn't care. This was Rose, and he had to save her. Had to. Any other outcome was inconceivable.

Rather than trying to force his way through or around the brambles, the Doctor reached out and cupped one of the lush, pink rose blossoms in his hands. "Rose, it's me. It's the Doctor, and some…friends. You're safe now, aboard the TARDIS. You're safe now; I promise you, you're safe. You can wake up now. I need…I _**need**_you to come back to me."

He hated the way his voice had changed from a pitch designed to sooth Rose, to a raw scrape of his own emotion. He hated the tears that clogged his throat. And he hated that he had an audience for his display of weakness.

It was oddly comforting to feel his own hand clasped sympathetically on his shoulder, and he let his eyes drift shut, willing Rose to hear his voice, feel his presence, whatever it might take to wake her.

"Professor, look!" Ace gasped, her voice soft with wonder.

The Doctor opened his eyes and saw that a perfect archway had formed in the hedge.


	3. Chapter 3

They wended their way through the tunnel that had formed through the middle of the hedge, finally emerging into bright sunlight. Formal flower beds of roses and boxwood surrounded the gleaming castle. Pennons of a dusky rose hue flew from the towers and snapped in the breezes. It was serene and idyllic, lovely in every way, except one. The path ended directly in front of them. It was a low, carefully groomed boxwood, nothing like the hedge of brambles they'd just passed through, but a barrier nonetheless.

"Rose, please," the Doctor sighed, "we're trying to help you. Please, let us help you…"

After a long, breathless moment, the greenery parted before them, revealing a wide boulevard leading to the castle.

"Thank you," the Doctor breathed.

"Your friend - she sure knows how to dream!" Ace said with her usual exuberance.

"She does, indeed," the Doctor agreed.

"And I presume these all have meaning to you both?" the former Doctor asked, gesturing with his brolly towards the stunning marble statues that dotted the park.

The Doctor followed his gesture, nodding. The Face of Boe gazed benevolently at them from one flower bed, and birds rested on Jabe's serenely outstretched hands in another. And that one over there - yes, it was - Charles Dickens, surrounded by a cluster of low holly bushes. "Friends we've encountered on our travels."

"I thought as much. Ah. Here we are."

The entry to the castle was composed of two tall, gilded doors. They sported ornate handles, mutely indicating that the doors should be pulled open. Ace reached out to do just that, but the Doctor in the pinstriped suit caught at her sleeve to stop her.

"No…wait. I've an idea." Reaching out, he pushed lightly on the doors, and they swung inwards.

"Just like the TARDIS," the Seventh Doctor observed.

"Just like."

"Where do we find her?" Ace asked, staring up at the soaring marble ceiling. Shafts of softly colored light entered through the stained glass windows, playing lightly over the polished white stone.

"Well, there is a staircase," her Doctor suggested. "And since we're in a castle, the staircase likely leads to a tower…"

"And princesses in fairy tales are always in the tower!" Ace agreed enthusiastically.

"They are, indeed," the Tenth Doctor said with a fond smile. "All right then, up we go!"

They began to climb the beautifully curving staircase, Ace and her Doctor admiring the portraits that hung on the wall. There was the Rose and the Doctor hand-in-hand beside the TARDIS, with what innocent eyes would take to be snow drifting down around them, the Ninth Doctor grinning broadly, holding a small boy in his arms, and other joyful scenes from so many of their adventures.

The Seventh Doctor paused in front of one particular painting. It depicted Rose and the Ninth Doctor, haloed in gold, sharing a kiss. "You know," he said quietly, "one way or another, this is going to break your hearts, one day."

"You think I don't know that?"

"Some things are worth it."

"She is. For however long we have…it's worth it." And he tried, very, very hard to convince himself of that, or better yet, that 'someday' might never come, that his genius would somehow, someway figure out a solution that would give them forever.

His younger self eyed him warily, guessing at the thoughts flitting through his brain. There were reasons why he'd spent so many centuries building walls around his hearts, very good reasons. It seemed his future self had chosen to forget them.

"Professor, up here!" Ace shouted, rousing them both from their morose trains of thought.

The Tenth Doctor gently moved Ace aside from the doorway. This one was an open arch, framed in sculptured rose vines. The room within could only be described as a bower. It was lit with golden candle light and soft sunlight that streamed through a rose window - truly, a rose window, a bloom depicted in soft pink glass. The window was flanked by deep pink velvet draperies, and living rose vines trailed throughout the room. And there, in the center of the room, on a gorgeously sculptured pedestal, lay Rose herself, slumbering in a rose and gold silk gown, the very vision of a fairy tale princess.

"I'm tempted to ask if a bit of this didn't come out of your own imagination," the Seventh Doctor commented dryly.

"Perhaps," the other Doctor replied, his eyes never leaving the still form in the center of the room.

His younger self laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I expect you can handle things from here. Ace and I will see ourselves out. We'll meet you back at the TARDIS, all right?"

The Doctor nodded, wordlessly. Afterwards, he could never recall taking any actual steps across the room, but he suddenly found himself kneeling beside Rose, reaching out to caress her cheek with gentle fingers.

"Oh, Rose…part of me wants to say I've never seen you look lovelier, but honestly, I wouldn't care if you were dressed in jeans, or even your ratty old jimjams, if you'd only open your eyes and talk to me."

His fingers drifted through the spun gold of her hair, splayed artfully across the pillow, and he chuckled softly. "You really are going to make me go through the whole fairy tale thing, aren't you? And you know what? I don't care. Only…please…come back to me."

He bent his head and kissed her, trying to channel all that he felt into that delicate touch of lips on lips. And then, miraculously, Rose gasped against his mouth, her eyelids fluttering open. The Doctor pulled back ever so slightly, cradling her head tenderly in his hands.

"Hello," Rose whispered tentatively.

"Hello," he whispered back, his voice raw and his eyes suspiciously shiny.

Rose's hands fisted into his lapels and dragged him down for another kiss, then she flung her arms around his neck, laughing.

"Where are we, then?" she asked, as he eased her upright, leaning back against his chest.

"You tell me. It's your daydream."

"How d'you mean?"

"We were attacked, Rose. You ran away and hid, deep inside your own imagination."

"Then how-?"

"I came to get you."

"You always do," Rose agreed, snuggling back into his arms. "So…if this is a dream, how do we get back to the real world?"

"I've got you now, so if you just hold tight, when I open my eyes, we should both be back on board the TARDIS." He stood carefully, cradling her safe in his arms.

"I'm pretty sure I can walk," Rose teased.

"Not taking any chances."

"Doctor, before we go, can we do something?"


	4. Chapter 4

"This is a castle, yeah? So it's got to have a ballroom."

"And?" the Doctor prompted.

Rose grinned at him, her eyes sparkling merrily. "And before we go, I want a dance."

"I don't recall seeing a ballroom," he grumbled halfheartedly. He was lost. He knew it. He never could refuse her anything, especially not now, when she was clasped in his arms, looking ever so beautiful.

"I'm pretty sure there is one. After all, it's my dream."

"Oh, all right," he whinged, "one dance. Just one."

Rose knew very well that she had won right from the first word, so she may have smirked, just a bit, as she kissed the Doctor's cheek, before laying her head back against his shoulder.

The Doctor carried Rose carefully down the spiraling marble staircase, which seemed quite a bit shorter than it had on the way up. And what he recalled as a rather grand foyer had expanded into a dazzling ballroom, with potted rose trees interspersed along the walls, and a tinkling marble fountain in the center.

"Just one dance," he whispered, settling Rose gently on her feet.

She wobbled slightly, and his arms were instantly around her again, his hold rather more suited for an intimate slow dance than the formal lilting of The Waltz of the Flowers that was issuing from who-knew-where. Rose sighed contentedly and laid her cheek against his chest. He kissed the top of her head, then pressed her hand to his lips, before clasping it tight against one of his hearts.

"I promised you one dance, Rose Tyler," the Doctor reminded her, their movements more a contented swaying than actual dancing.

"Mmmm…I don't want to let go."

"You don't have to let go. Just open your eyes. Do that for me, please, Rose. Just open your eyes."

She did, gasping in shock as she found herself in the TARDIS medbay, wrapped in the Doctor's coat. An older, portly man with a hat jammed on his curly head was smiling at her beneficently, and there was a young girl she'd never seen before, also grinning broadly. And her Doctor was there, cupping her face gently in his hands, and smiling his relief as she recognized him.

"Welcome home," he whispered. He pulled her into a fierce embrace.

"I was so scared," Rose whispered.

"I know, but you were so clever, building yourself a safe place to hide," the Doctor praised her.

"I knew you'd come for me."

"I'm sorry it took so long, but I must say, you have a delightful imagination."

Rose leaned in, pressing a tiny kiss to the corner of his mouth, then flushed bright pink as the other Doctor cleared his throat, rather ostentatiously reminding them of his presence.

"Who're your friends?"

"Rose, this is my friend Ace. She used to travel with me."

The younger girl gave a small wave, which Rose acknowledged with a warm grin.

"And this -" he indicated the older-appearing man, who doffed his hat politely.

Rose studied his face carefully.. It was there, in his eyes. They twinkled merrily, but there was that sense of enormous time, deep behind the glimmer. "You - you're _**him**_, aren't you?" she asked in wonder.

"I am, indeed. Just as you wished for a safe place to hide yourself, he wished for help to rescue you."

"And who better to help me than myself?" Rose's Doctor asked rather whimsically.

"Thank you," Rose said, holding out her hand.

The Seventh Doctor took in gently in his own. "It was my very great pleasure my dear, but I think Ace and I had best be off now. More than one of me in one place for very long is never a good idea."

"Too much wonderful for the universe to contain?" Rose teased.

"Indeed," both Doctors chorused.


End file.
